Calls are being made to protect retail staff from abuse - Credit: Submitted Shopworkers’ trade union Usdaw is joining with the British Retail Consortium in calling for government action to stem a growing tide of violence and abuse against shopworkers. The BRC Annual Retail Crime Survey, released last week, shows that violence and abuse against shopworkers continues to grow to 455 incidents every day, which represents a seven per cent increase on the previous year. Paddy Lillis, Usdaw general secretary, said: “This BRC survey is further confirmation of the scale of the problem retail staff face on a daily basis and backs up the findings in Usdaw’s latest research. It has been a terrible time for our members, with almost 90 per cent of shopworkers suffering abuse, two-thirds threatened and nearly one in ten assaulted. Retail workers, their friends, family and loved ones, are saying loud and clear that enough is enough, abuse should never be just a part of the job.